Five Clips from ‘The Tempest’

William Shakespeare’s stories have long been told on the silver screen: “Romeo and Juliet,” “Othello” and “Hamlet” have all had their own film adaptions (multiple ones), among other tales of Billy’s. Now it’s time for a recent adaption of Shakespeare’s “The Tempest” to make it to theaters.

The play tells the story of the banished Prospero, a duke exiled on an island, and his quest to bring his daughter Miranda back to her “rightful place” in the world. In the movie, Prospero is actually Prospera, played by Helen Mirren — an interesting twist.

If you’re not too into magic, monsters or The Bard, you may not be too into the clips below. However, no matter how interested you are in the movie, you’ve got to admit that the cinematography and special effects in the clips look pretty great. And if you are into talented actors, “The Tempest” has quite a list; not only the always awesome Mirren, but David Strathairn, Alan Cumming, Felicity Jones, Chris Cooper and Djimon Hounsou. Also, Russell Brand is in the film. I’ll wait until after I see the movie to decide whether to put him in the “talented actors” category or not.